President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday the selection of former Director of National Intelligence during his first term, John Ratcliffe, as director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
“I am pleased to announce that former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe will serve as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),” he said in a message posted on his Truth Social platform.
Trump stressed that Ratcliffe “has always been a warrior for truth and honesty with the American public,” recalling his role in trying to push forward investigations against Hunter Biden, son of the current president, Joe Biden, for tax evasion.
“When 51 intelligence officials were lying about Hunter Biden’s laptop, there was one, John Ratcliffe, telling the truth to the American people,” he said in this regard, one of the reasons why, in 2020, he was awarded the National Security Medal: “the nation’s highest honor for distinguished achievements in the field of intelligence and national security.”
“I hope that John will be the first person to occupy the two highest intelligence positions in our country. He will be a fearless fighter for the constitutional rights of all Americans, while ensuring the highest levels of national security and peace through strength,” said the new head of the White House.
John Ratcliffe was Director of National Intelligence between 2020 and 2021 during President Trump’s first term. Previously, he was a Republican congressman from Texas, a position he held for five years where he focused on “national security issues” as a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees and as the Cybersecurity Chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.
